Another Successful Trip to Washington, DC for Water’s Worth It!
Members of the NH Water Pollution Control Association (NHWPCA) traveled to Washington, DC on April 17-18 to participate in the annual New England Water Environment Association 
(NEWEA) Congressional Briefing. This visit coincided with a National Fly-In for water professionals from around the country. This was the first year that the Fly-In combined drinking water and wastewater in a collaboration to double our efforts for effective outreach on all water infrastructure and topics.
New England was well represented with more than 30 folks attending including Dan Driscoll, Superintendent for Concord WWTF; Shelagh Connelly and Eryka Reid from RMI, were joined by drinking water folks including Charity Ross the Executive Director for NHWWA, John Lyons, the President of NHWWA and Chris Hodgson the President of NEWWA.
On Tuesday we enjoyed the NEWEA luncheon and briefing where we were delighted to have both Senator Shaheen and Senator Hassan talk about their long-term involvement in water quality issues starting back when they were each state senators, then NH Governors, and now our federal Senators.
We headed out as our group of 6 from NH and met with the offices of our 4 delegates, Congresswoman Carol Shea – Porter, Congresswoman Annie Kuster’s, Senator Hassan and Senator Shaheen.
As Congressman James McGovern from Massachusetts reminded us – our passion for water is important to share every year in Washington. With so many competing issues we have to be at the table sharing our story. The message we carried was about the need to invest in our aging and failing water infrastructure, the difficulty of working with increasing regulatory burden, the acknowledgement that water is essential to our economy and public health, and the need for a sustainable water trust.
The unseen water infrastructure needs a champion – and that is what we are, because Water’s Worth It!
Major Milestone Approaching for Local Paper Mill
Monadnock Paper Mill located in Bennington, NH is the oldest family-owned and –operated paper mill in the country and will be celebrating 200 years in 2019! Monadnock is not only a leader in the papermaking industry, but they are also passionate about environmental stewardship. Monadnock has been recognized by leading environmental organizations including the Forest Stewardship Council, the Sierra Club, the Society for the Protection of New Hampshire Forests, and they have earned the Governor’s Award for Pollution Prevention as well as the Cornerstone Award from New Hampshire Businesses for Social Responsibility for their environmental efforts. Since 2000, RMI has had the honor of partnering with Monadnock by recycling their paper fiber to be used at local farms in composting operations and as an alternative to animal bedding. By working together RMI has managed to recycle 22,000 tons of Monadnock paper fiber!
Stay tuned to hear all about how Monadnock Paper Mill will be celebrating their 200th year of awesome work!
Congratulations Shelagh Connelly & RMI!
Every year the New England Water Environment Association (NEWEA) recognizes either an engineering firm, a specific project, a municipality, or a specific municipal or industrial facility for 
their outstanding accomplishments in the field of biosolids management. This year, RMI President Shelagh Connelly was nominated for this Biosolids Management Award. Shelagh along with her partners Charley Hanson and Marty Riehs have been successfully operating RMI throughout the northeast since 1994. Shelagh is very active on the Government Affairs Committee for NEWEA and for NHWPCA, and assists with regulatory overview and legislative initiatives throughout the northeast on biosolids, wood ash and paper fiber initiatives. Shelagh lives and breathes biosolids management and will do anything that needs to be done in order to ensure continued legislative and community support for biosolids land application. From wastewater treatment plant tours for local high schools, presentations at colleges, public outreach at town hall meetings, to testifying before the legislature in NH and DC there is nothing Shelagh won’t do to promote and protect the land, the environment and the people she and her RMI Team serve.
Shelagh and the whole team at RMI are very honored to have been awarded this achievement award and we can’t wait to see what 2019 has in store for us!
Durham Wastewater Treatment Facility & RMI
Durham’s wastewater treatment facility plays a very important role in protecting public health and the environment with the millions of gallons of sewage that it treats daily. Clean water and biosolids are recovered through the process and complete a recycling loop of sustainability. Since 2007, Durham and RMI have removed 16,853 wet tons of biosolids from the Great Bay watershed which equals 180,000 pounds of Nitrogen and 145,000 pounds of Phosphorous. This fertilizer was recycled to over 1,200 acres of excellent hay production in Northern New Hampshire. Thanks to the town of Durham for helping RMI promote sustainability and build healthy soils!
Customer Spotlight – Jay Pritchard
Great example of what our Biosolids can do for you! Hay production on a local field has doubled in the last three years. Last year the first cut on this field was just over 5 tons per acre and this year it will be around 7 tons per acre. A few years ago it was less than half of that.
Meet Paul Schoolcraft!
Paul has been driving for RMI since June 2010! He services almost all of our generators throughout New England but spends most of his time in Putney, VT and has racked up a whopping 780,000 miles, 23,000 hours and 6,300 loads of Heart & Soil Agricultural Products to our loyal customers. Paul is a great asset to RMI and we love having him on our team! Paul just moved in to our newest RMI truck and is looking good!
Thanks for keeping us rolling!